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Trick 2019 ★★˝
An overall decent slasher with some good kills here and there. With one particular kill reaching Final Destination-levels of convolutedness, but okay. The killer had a nice looking mask, which is always a plus too. And his facepaint made him look like the guy on the box cover of The Purge: Anarchy.
His motivations are never really clear. At one point, I sensed a bit of a Columbine-like vibe in his motives (the outsider with no sense of belonging), but it turns out it's just evil. Omar Epps was pretty good as the obsessed cop.
The ludicrous reveal at the end and the too obvious sequel bait keep it from its third star.
Only for slasher fans looking for a bit more gore than the average PG13 tripe.
The Andy Baker Tape 2021 ★★★
This is an enjoyable FF. Like a lot of entries in the genre, it takes its good time to set up and get going.
Personally, I don't feel the creepiness right away. On the contrary. Until the “towel scene”, Andy does not come across as creepy. And are we supposed to feel sorry for Jeff? Because he comes across as smug and arrogant and aggressive. Andy perhaps looks inept in front of a camera and a tad klutzy at times, but that's also because Jeff placed him in a position where a lot of people would look bad.
Therefor, I cannot really follow the comparisons with Creep that I see here. The cameraman in Creep never really “asked for it”, whereas here, you can make a case for the theory that Jeff pushed/helped push Andy over the edge. However close Andy may have already been at the start of the movie. Also, the performance Mark Duplass delivered in Creep is head and shoulders above these two. Which is more of a compliment to him than a detriment to these two guys.
Once it gets going, it does pick up enough steam to keep you involved. Especially the scene with the injection needle and the ending are adequately creepy. And that's what you watch a found footage for. Would have been cool if they had been able to raise a bit of extra budget to hire a make up artist and add some gore. Bit of torture porn. With Andy taking a page from 24.
No top-5 material for me, but certainly not the worst in the genre. For fans of slow burns and found footage. And I'm guessing those two are (kind of) the same, lol.
Penance Lane 2020 ★˝
Scout Taylor-Compton reunites with Tyler Mane, over 10 years after the Rob Zombie Halloween. Except that now, instead of trying to kill her, he somehow is fond of her and protects her.
A by the numbers monster movie about a gang with a stronghold on a small town. And their hills have eyes-ish henchmen. And the sheriff is corrupt and his son is a douchebag. Tyler Mane is not terrible and there are small parts for Booker T and DDP.
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